NEW DELHI: Five of India’s 10 most-valued companies collectively added Rs 1.54 lakh crore to their market capitalisation last week, with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) emerging as the biggest gainer after strong quarterly earnings helped lift investor sentiment amid a positive run in domestic equities.The gains came as the benchmark BSE Sensex advanced 582.06 points (0.75%) during the week, while the NSE Nifty climbed 127.4 points (0.52%).“Indian equity markets ended the week on a firm footing, extending their recovery despite heightened geopolitical tensions, elevated crude oil prices, and persistent uncertainty surrounding the global interest-rate outlook,” Ajit Mishra, SVP-Research, Religare Broking told PTI.He attributed the rally to encouraging first-quarter earnings from the IT sector, renewed buying in financial stocks and resilient domestic economic fundamentals.
Top weekly gainers & losers
TCS saw the sharpest jump in valuation, adding Rs 72,072.3 crore to take its market capitalisation to Rs 8,20,672.70 crore.The country’s largest IT services company reported a 4.61% rise in June-quarter net profit to Rs 13,349 crore and indicated that demand, temporarily impacted by the West Asia conflict, is expected to improve in the current quarter.Among the other gainers, ICICI Bank added Rs 29,062.06 crore, taking its valuation to Rs 10,34,441.77 crore, while Reliance Industries gained Rs 23,884.93 crore, pushing its market capitalisation to Rs 17,95,091.26 crore.Bajaj Finance added Rs 21,946.5 crore to reach Rs 6,57,274.28 crore, while State Bank of India gained Rs 7,338.34 crore, taking its valuation to Rs 9,63,768.78 crore.On the losing side, Larsen & Toubro witnessed the biggest erosion, with its market capitalisation falling Rs 18,097.72 crore to Rs 5,24,840.68 crore.Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) lost Rs 12,080.75 crore, followed by Bharti Airtel, whose valuation declined Rs 7,706.45 crore. HDFC Bank shed Rs 7,084.61 crore, while Hindustan Unilever lost Rs 1,221.79 crore in market value.At the end of the week, Reliance Industries remained India’s most-valued company, followed by HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, TCS, Bajaj Finance, LIC, Larsen & Toubro and Hindustan Unilever.
Gold & silver under pressure
Meanwhile, analysts expect gold and silver to remain under pressure this week as investors assess the impact of the escalating US-Iran conflict, elevated crude oil prices and a series of key global economic data releases.Market participants will closely monitor developments in the Middle East, US weekly jobless claims, flash Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data, along with monetary policy decisions and economic indicators from Europe and China for fresh cues on interest rates.The uncertainty comes after the US military carried out fresh airstrikes on Iran following attacks on American-linked installations in Jordan, intensifying tensions in the region.On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold futures for August delivery fell Rs 2,572, or nearly 2%, to settle at Rs 1.40 lakh per 10 grams last week. Silver futures for September delivery also witnessed heavy selling, declining Rs 6,261, or 2.8%, to close at Rs 2.16 lakh per kg.In international markets, Comex gold futures declined $95 (2.3%) to settle at $4,018.8 per ounce, while silver dropped nearly $4 (6.4%) to $56.32 per ounce during the week.